In Applicant's prior Patent Application No. 6,196,266 there is taught a multiport diverting valve which allow having many advantages as set out in the Background of the Invention in that patent, which is hereby incorporated by reference, there were several limitations which are addressed by the present invention. In particular, the prior valve was not embodied in a cartridge but in a kit of components. In particular, the valve was complicated by the requirement of various clips, stops and the like which are best seen in the figures and the descriptions relating thereto which make the repair and replacement of such an assembly or an adjustment thereof more complicated than is necessary. It would be advantageous to provide a multiport diverter valve in a cartridge form which merely would require replacement of the cartridge in a simple straight forward manner without the necessity of having to remove clips, stops and the like and which require complicated assembly.
The present invention therefore accomplishes many of the objectives of the prior teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,266 in a simplified valve construction that does not require a kit but is provided in a cartridge assembly which may be removed from the housing and discarded when repair is necessary.
Also, it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a multiport diverting valve including a cartridge assembly which includes a ceramic disk in the inlet of the valve to improve the reliability and life of the cartridge assembly.
Further and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when considering the following summary of the invention and the more detailed description of the preferred embodiments illustrated herein.